American singer and actress Janet Jackson turns 45 today. The sister of pop king Michael Jackson and the youngest member of Motown‘s first family, Jackson forged an independent career for herself at a relatively early age. She was a regular on the sitcomGood Times, and later appeared on Fame (for the younger set, we’ll explain that Fame was a bit like Glee, but without the Lady Gaga covers). Initially, her recording career very much remained in the shadow of her brothers, and her first two albums failed to make a significant splash. Jackson decided to strike out on her own and establish her own pop identity. She released the aptly named Control in 1986 and sent five singles to the top of the rhythm-and-blues charts, including two Top Ten pop hits, “What Have You Done for Me Lately” and “Nasty.” She continued to build on this success, as Britannica describes:

Her collaborations with the production team of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (based in Minneapolis, Minnesota) produced bold, beat-heavy, catchy songs that defined the punch and power of 1980s dance and pop music. Jackson returned in 1989 with her most diverse work, Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814. The album delivered seven pop Top Ten hit singles, including “Miss You Much,” “Escapade,” and “Love Will Never Do (Without You).”

Like her brother Michael, Janet made superb use of the music video format, and she was a regular presence on MTV throughout the ’80s and ’90s. Subsequent albums tended towards a more mature R&B sound, with the 1993 release janet eschewing the funky beats of Rhythm Nation in favor of sensual dance grooves and smooth ballads. Jackson continued to have moderate success on the R&B charts, but she exploded onto the national scene again in 2004. She became the center of a debate on decency standards on television when fellow performer Justin Timberlake pulled away a section of Jackson’s bodice during a live performance at halftime of the 2004 Super Bowl. The possibly accidental (though more probably not) reveal of skin was termed a “wardrobe malfunction,” and a new phrase entered the pop culture lexicon. Not all of Jackson’s on screen appearances were quite so controversial. Although primarily identified as a singer, Jackson continued to act. In 1993 she made her film debut in John Singleton‘s Poetic Justice, costarring with rapper Tupac Shakur. Her later movie credits include Tyler Perry‘s Why Did I Get Married? (2007) and its sequel, Why Did I Get Married Too? (2010), and For Colored Girls (2010), Perry’s adaptation of Ntozake Shange’s 1975 theatre piece For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf.